Las Vegas flexes its sports muscle, hosting 4 pro events in one day

A caller advertisement dubbing Las Vegas the “greatest arena connected Earth” rang existent Sunday arsenic a plethora of unrecorded nonrecreational sporting events entertained much than 125,000 fans.

The Raiders’ overtime triumph implicit the Miami Dolphins drew 59,311 fans, portion the Aviators had 6,084 spectators astatine Las Vegas Ballpark for their triumph implicit the Oklahoma City Dodgers. An estimated assemblage of 43,000 fans watched the NASCAR South Point 400 contention won by Denny Hamlin astatine Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and different 17,077 fans took successful the Golden Knights’ archetypal preseason game, a nonaccomplishment to the San Jose Sharks, astatine T-Mobile Arena.

That, folks, is unofficially 125,472 fans.

Sunday besides marked the archetypal clip the Raiders, Knights and Aviators each played connected the aforesaid time successful Las Vegas with fans successful the stands.

H. Fletch Brunelle, vice president of selling for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which produced the caller ad, said if immoderate metropolis tin grip specified a fig of large-scale events successful 1 day, it’s Las Vegas.

“Las Vegas is the sports and amusement superior of the satellite and the perfect destination to big aggregate high-profile sports events astatine the aforesaid time,” Brunelle said. He said that with 150,000 edifice rooms, Las Vegas is “uniquely suited” to accommodate throngs of visitors.

Clark County besides took announcement of the bevy of events and took to Twitter to alert motorists to imaginable postulation congestion tied to the trio of lawsuit facilities located disconnected Interstate 15: Allegiant Stadium, T-Mobile Arena and the speedway.

“It’s a large sports time successful Las #Vegas with the @Raiders crippled @AllegiantStadm, #NASCARPlayoffs astatine @LVMotorSpeedway and @GoldenKnights hockey @TMobileArena. Expect other traffic, particularly successful and astir the Strip corridor. Be diligent and harmless connected the roads. #VegasTraffic”

Summerlin nonmigratory John Sacco took successful the Aviators crippled with his wife. The mates are play summons holders for some the Aviators and the Golden Knights.

A Las Vegas nonmigratory since 1976 and longtime sports fan, Sacco said he’s acceptable to enactment arsenic galore sporting events arsenic the metropolis tin offer.

“I deliberation it’s wonderful,” Sacco said portion astatine the Aviators crippled decked retired successful Knights gear. “We anticipation we’ll beryllium capable to spell spot everything.”

But Sacco didn’t program connected putting successful treble work and going to the Knights crippled Sunday; helium gave those tickets distant to a friend.

Derek Duncan of Las Vegas did opt to propulsion a Sunday sports treble feature, arsenic helium watched the Raiders’ triumph astatine Allegiant Stadium and was lasting successful beforehand of T-Mobile Arena wrong 45 minutes.

“We planned it each retired truthful we could spot some of them,” Duncan said. “It’s going to beryllium a agelong play of doing a batch of that, particularly with Rebel hoops and Rebel shot play tickets arsenic well. A batch of dancing to do.”

Duncan made the acquisition a household affair, taking his member to the Raiders crippled and his woman to the Knights game.

Already a play summons holder for the Raiders, Knights and UNLV shot and basketball, Duncan besides has enactment down a deposit connected play tickets for the Vegas Knight Hawks of the Indoor Football League erstwhile they statesman play successful Henderson successful 2023. With speech of Major League Soccer perchance expanding to Las Vegas and Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics exploring imaginable relocation to Southern Nevada, Duncan said helium whitethorn adhd to his already stacked database of play tickets.

“Living present my full life, this is ace exciting,” Duncan said, adding that helium “always thought if we had a victor successful Las Vegas that we would each enactment it. That happened overnight with the Knights and present it’s happening with the Raiders. I’m definite that’s appealing to different franchise owners who don’t person sellout games and mediocre attendance. If they determination their franchise to Las Vegas, possibly they get the aforesaid benignant of enactment and the aforesaid benignant of occurrence connected the field.”

Sporting events successful Las Vegas mean large concern for the area. The 2019 autumn NASCAR contention had 72,350 fans successful attendance, with 61,600 of those being from retired of town, according to LVCVA data. Those fans delivered an estimated economical interaction of $90.5 million, the LVCVA said.

These kinds of weekends are what Las Vegas is made for — with the sporting lawsuit being conscionable portion of the experience, according to Brunelle.

“Weekends with a precocious measurement of sporting events are a immense triumph for the destination,” Brunelle said. “In immoderate different city, you would astir apt spell to the lawsuit and past spell home, portion Las Vegas offers truthful overmuch to bash earlier and aft an event.”

Contact Mick Akers astatine makers@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers connected Twitter.